Послание 1 Кирилла Александрийского

Each of our deeds, when it directly follows the rules of decorum, does not give rise to any embarrassment for us, but saves us from the censure of some, and moreover, it gains us the approval of well-minded people. For who would not agree with an impartial opinion when it is pronounced by someone? Or will not the just and lawful judgment be impeccable, and more than full of all praise? I write this now, when your piety in your writing, sent to me and to our most reverend and pious brother and fellow bishop Proclus, calls Peter the most reverent and most God-loving bishop, and he, meanwhile, weeps and considers himself wrongly removed from the church entrusted to him. It would be proper either for him to have the name of the priesthood along with the thing itself, or, if he was not worthy to stand before the altar of God, not to be honored with the title of bishop. Perhaps my word will seem cruel and unbrotherly to your love of God, but it is not so in truth. For we think to be lenient towards the elder, leaving him only a name. But it would be much better to think differently. He says that he can justify himself, but he is not given time to justify himself and is not invited to consider the case according to the rules. If this were done, then the very paperwork would either expose him as a criminal, proven and recognized, and therefore cannot say that he was offended, or would present him as decisively innocent, and would return to him the leadership of the Church, which was entrusted to him. Since nothing of this kind has been done, he cries out against this and says that he suffered an unbearable insult and that he was unjustly cast out; he adds that everything that he had as his own was taken away from him. So, Your Reverence, taking into consideration what the Divine rules require, and what is appropriate for the Church and those appointed in it for sacred service, and besides this, respecting our scripture, let him wipe away the tears of the elder. And if he wants to sue those who have accused him of crimes, then let him be tried according to the accepted custom before your piety, in the presence of the most pious bishops subordinate to you, except for those whom he does not accept as suspects to him. We do not believe that any of the most pious bishops had hostile thoughts against his brother, but so that this pretext does not serve to weaken the power of the court that is about to take place, allegedly this was carried out unjustly, it will not be in the least offensive if some, due to doubts about their impartiality, are not in the judicial assembly. (Ap. 74; I Universe. 5; II Universe. 6; IV Universe. 9, 17; Antiochus. 12, 14; Serdic. 4, 5; Carth. 28; Cyril Alex. 3). Bishop Peter was deprived of his see, according to him, without a proper trial, by forcing him to ask for resignation. Saint Cyril suggests solving the matter the right way. It should be noted that this rule gives the defendant the right to challenge judges due to doubts about their impartiality. An example for this principle is St. John Chrysostom, who did not agree to appear at the trial, since it was carried out by his enemy Theophilus of Alexandria and some others. You might be interested in: